The Cannabis and Hemp Industries Are Fighting Back with Help From Congress

A collection of almost 30 bipartisan congress members have chosen to file an amicus brief **on behalf of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) which will help the organization directly challenge the DEA’s final ruling on industrial hemp and cannabis.

The DEA ruling is attempting to include the non-psychoactive chemical compound Cannabidiol (CBD), that can be extracted from industrial hemp in their ruling. CBD derived from industrial hemp usually contains less than 0.03% THC, and according to the World Health Organization, “In humans, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential…. also preliminary evidence that CBD may be a useful treatment for a number of medical conditions.”

In other news, Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. Lead over 70 congress members in demanding that the McClintock-Polis amendment be included in the next round of government funding. This would then prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from prosecuting anyone consuming, growing, or distributing cannabis and cannabis extracts if they are following the law in legal states.

This is in direct reaction to Jeff Sessions rescinding the Cole Memo earlier this year, which was an Obama era policy that instructed the Federal Government not to crack down on medical and recreational cannabis states.

Congress aren’t the only ones taking action. Last year, a 12 year old girl filed a lawsuit directly against Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The lawsuit was filed to attempt to prove that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as it relates to cannabis. Joining her are plaintiffs Marvin Washington, a former NFL lineman; Jose Belen, an Army veteran; and Jagger Cotte, a 6-year-old boy from Georgia, all of whom use medicinal cannabis.

Our Take:

The U.S. Attorney General and the DEA continues attempts to directly reverse all of the progress made within the industrial hemp and cannabis industries over the past 10 years. People directly influenced by the decision know first-hand how much progress that has been made and they are now fighting back. Now is that they have congress backing them up.

The experiments in recreational states has been successfully proven in states like Colorado which is producing almost a billion in state tax dollars, lowering crime rates, and lower opioid use every year. In the end, it’s the people that really need these miracle extracts that are going to be hurt the most. They are the ones that should be dictating whether industrial hemp and cannabis helps them because they are the ones that are going to suffer without them.

**Amicus briefs are legal documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter. The briefs advise the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that the court might wish to consider.